


A Strange Encounter in the Night

by Sarah_P42



Category: One Piece
Genre: Franky is the only smart one, Gen, Halloween, Monkey D. Luffy Being An Idiot, Roronoa Zoro and Vinsmoke Sanji Bickering, Skeleton Puns, Usopp being a coward
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-08-13 23:01:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16481414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sarah_P42/pseuds/Sarah_P42
Summary: The Straw Hat pirates stop at an island one night to pick up supplies. They weren't expecting what awaited them on the island.





	A Strange Encounter in the Night

Zoro let out a long, exasperated sigh. “Usopp, when are you not scared of going onto an unknown island?”

 

“I’m telling you,” Usopp urged. “This place is giving me the creeps! I vote that we don’t go.”

 

“Everything gives you the creeps,” Zoro replied.

 

“Besides,” Sanji added, placing a cigarette between his lips and reaching for the lighter in his pocket. “We need to pick up some more supplies.” He held his hand over the butt of his cigarette and flicked the lighter, fire blooming to life. 

 

“Come on, Usopp!” Luffy whined-yelled. “Quit being a baby.”

 

“It’s called being smart,” Usopp retorted. “Not like you’d know what that’s like.”

 

“Will you four stop it already? Sheesh,” Nami scolded them. “Just go get some some supplies quickly and run back.”

 

Usopp opened his mouth to speak, beside ultimately closed it. He just glared to the side. “Fine. But we better make this as quick as possible.”

 

“Be a man, Usopp,” Zoro called to him as he walked off the Thousand Sunny. “Or are your balls just there for show?”

 

“No need to be mean!” Usopp yelled back. That comment did sting though, so Usopp followed Zoro, Luffy and Sanji off their ship, regret and fear following close behind. 

 

The four friends walked in a group, walking towards the port town ahead. It was nighttime, the moon almost at its peak in the sky. The stars were dim, blocked by gray clouds that loomed over their heads. The town was just next to the water, with a larger than life dock jutting out of the mainland. There were shops, homes and other buildings lining the main road that continued where the dock finished. Lights were on in the buildings, but no one was out.

 

Usopp had noticed the lack of life in the streets, and was unsettled by this. “Guys,” he muttered anxiously, “doesn’t it bother you that this place is empty?”

 

“You do realize how late at night it is, right?” Sanji asked, glancing over his shoulder at the long-nosed coward. 

 

“Yeah,” Usopp grumbled. “But maybe there’s a monster out tonight and people are hiding in their homes. You can never assume anything.”

 

“If they really were hiding from something, their lights wouldn’t be on,” Zoro observed. 

 

“I hate to say it, but moss-head’s right,” Sanji admitted, with a sharp pang of regret in his voice. Zoro just smirked at the comment.

 

They looked around for stores that sold food, since that was the main reason why they were there, but Usopp saw something dash into an alleyway out of the corner of his eye. He stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes slowly shifting their gaze to that dreaded, dark alleyway. He saw movement again, and he heard… voices?

 

“Look what I got!” The first voice was eager and high-pitched.

 

“Aw, you got all the good stuff.” The second voice moaned in frustration, just as high-pitched

 

“That old man didn’t have nearly enough on him.” the third voice grumbled with as much frustration as the second voice, and was also high-pitched.

 

“We’ve only been to a few houses,” The first voice reassured the others. “There’s plenty of others in this town we haven’t been to yet, so there’s bound to be more.”

 

“I’m so hungry,” The second voice continued to moan. 

 

“We'll get to eat all of this later,” The first voice chimed in. “But the night is still young, and we need to do some more hunting.” The voice was more sinister this time.

 

Usopp almost shit his pants listening to that exchange. He saw that his friends were farther up ahead, and he sprinted to them as quietly as he could. He collided with Zoro’s back, almost knocking the swordsman over.

 

“Hey!” Zoro yelled. “Watch where you’re going, dumbass!”

 

Usopp shushed him, and looked panickedly at his friends. “We need to leave.  _ Now. _ ” His voice was low, but urgent.

 

“Why?” Luffy asked.

 

“Were you spooked by your own shadow again?” Sanji raised an eyebrow.

 

Usopp shot Sanji a glare. “No, you asshole. I heard something back there, and it sounded like my hypothesis was correct.”

 

“Hypothesis?” Zoro asked.

 

Sanji looked at Zoro deadpanned. “It’s an educated guess that can be tested by doing an experiment-”

 

“I’m not stupid, curly-brow! I know what a hypothesis is!”

 

“Oh? I didn’t know your vocabulary was that extensive,” Sanji commented, fanning genuine surprise. 

 

Before Zoro could make a jab at Sanji, Usopp shushed them again. “Would you two be quiet and stop arguing for five seconds? I heard some voices, and they were talking about how they were hunting the people of this town, and  _ eating them _ . Their voices were high-pitched, so I think they might be goblins or gremlins, but we need to get out of here,  _ fast _ .”

 

Luffy looked back where Usopp had ran from, and, in typical Luffy fashion, he walked past his friends and straight towards that spot, without a hint of fear or hesitation.

 

“ _ Luffy! What are you doing? _ ” Usopp whisper-yelled at his captain, his voice cracking. 

 

The three chased after him, Usopp crying with fear, muttering under his breath “He’s crazy he’s crazy he’s crazy.” 

 

Luffy stopped and turned towards the alley-way, his face lacking any emotion of any sort. He just blinked into the darkness, and after a moment, cupped his hands around his mouth like a megaphone, and called out “Hellooooooo.”

 

Usopp crumpled to his knees, crying, “We’re dead. Our captain’s doomed us all.”

 

“Well, you really shouldn’t be surprised,” Sanji commented.

 

Movement cut through the darkness and three small figures emerged, still masked by shadows. As the shadows dispersed, their feature became visible. The first figure had the face of a demon, with burning red eyes, blood red skin, fangs that came down to his jaw, horns protruding from his head and a horrifying grin from ear to ear. The second figure had fangs - though much smaller - along with ghost white skin, slicked back hair, red eyes and a long cape that fell to the cobble-stone ground and rose up to his ears. The third figure had thick brown fur on his clawed hands and it stuck out through his clothes. He also had fangs, with a dog’s face and ears.

 

Usopp shrieked at the creatures, running behind Zoro’s large body. “Go beat them up!”

 

“Why me?” Zoro asked nonchalantly.

 

“Because it’s the only thing you’re good at!”

 

Sanji chuckled, and Zoro, his good eye burning with fury, shot “Shut up, curly brow! Don’t get me started with you!”

 

The three figures were fully submerged in the light of the moon. They were all holding worn out bags, all half-way filled with something chunky and hefty. They just stood there, in their clump of three, staring up the four strangers to the island. 

 

“I’ve never seen them before,” the demon muttered to his companions.

 

“Duh, because they’re in costume,” the wolf-beast clarified. 

 

“They do look a little big to be dressing up though,” the vampire thought aloud.

 

“Anyone can dress up if they want to! It doesn’t matter how old you are,” the demon stated. 

 

“Then why don’t I see my mom going out in costume?” the vampire asked.

 

“Because maybe she doesn’t want to,” the demon considered. “It’s a personal preference.”

 

Luffy, Zoro, Sanji and Usopp stared at the three monsters, completely confused by their exchange. What the hell was going on? What did they mean by costumes?

 

“Well, these guys are in costumes. Look!” The demon pointed a small, black nailed finger at them individually. “He’s a samurai!” he proclaimed, his finger in Zoro’s direction. Zoro looked down at his green haramaki with his three swords tied around his waist. “He’s a… a bodyguard!” The demon guessed Sanji’s costume, which was just a formal suit, like he always wore. “He’s a sniper! See the slingshot on his back!” It was Usopp’s turn, and while he was wearing his goggles, hat and overalls, he did have his prized slingshot Kabuto with him. “And lastly, he’s a hobo!” Finally they got to Luffy, who was wearing a red shirt, capris, sandals and his treasured straw hat.

 

“Oh, I can see that,” the vampire nodded. 

 

Luffy, Zoro, Sanji and Usopp exchanged a look with each other. What were these monsters talking about?

 

“Hey! You four!”

 

All four of their heads shot towards the sound, and they saw Franky and Brook growing bigger as they approached. 

 

“What’s taking you guys so long? We got worried!” Franky called to them.

 

“Is everything alright?” Brook asked with concern. 

 

The three little monsters saw the two approaching, and their eyes almost popped out of their sockets. “Woah! Look at their costumes!” The demon was shaking from head to toe.

 

“The big one’s definitely a cyborg! Look at all the mechanical parts on him!” The vampire gaped at Franky’s appearance.

 

“And that’s the coolest skeleton costume I’ve ever seen! It looks so real!” The wolf-beast marvelled at Brook. 

 

As Franky got closer, he saw the three monsters and considered them. “Who are these three?”

 

Brook added, “Are they giving you any trouble?”

 

“You two have such cool costumes!” The three monsters exclaimed all at once.

 

“Costumes. Nah, brother. I’m the  _ real deal _ !” Franky boasted, a huge grin on his face.

 

“As am I,” Brook chimed in. “I’m a real skeleton, in the flesh. Although, I don’t have any flesh! Yo ho ho ho!” 

 

The three monsters were too absorbed by Franky and Brook that they completely forgot about the other four. Sanji came to the conclusion that these monsters weren’t harmful at all, so he took a few steps towards them, kneeled down to their level, and asked, “We just need to know where the nearest store that sells food is. Can you tell us where that is?”

 

The demon turned to Sanji. “If you’re looking for candy, you’re out of luck. They’re all sold out. You should’ve bought some earlier.”

 

“We’re not looking for candy,” Zoro stated. “Just regular food.”

 

“Oh,” the demon realized, looking confused for a moment. Then, he pointed to the right, down a smaller road. “If you go down that street, you’ll see a big store called  _ Lyle’s Goods _ . They have everything there.”

 

“Thanks a lot, little demon,” Luffy grinned and chuckled. The demon smiled from ear to ear.

 

The six friends started walking in that direction, and as soon as Zoro started to subconsciously veer left, Usopp grabbed him by the collar and his haramaki and pulled him along. 

 

The three demons watched them go, in awe at their costumes. 

 

“They seem like really nice guys,” the demon mused. 

 

“I haven’t seen them around, though. I think they’re from a different island,” the vampire thought aloud.

 

“So they just came here for food? Weird,” the wolf-beast wondered. 

 

“Okay! Let’s go to the rest of the houses before it gets too late! My mom wants me home sooner than last year,” the demon announced, and the three of them headed off towards the next house.

 

***

 

Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, Franky and Brook arrived at the Sunny a half an hour later, their ship still where they had last seen it.

 

“I wonder what was up with those monsters,” Usopp puzzled. “They were talking about costumes…”

 

Franky looked lost in thought, then he turned to Brook. “Hey, what’s today’s date?”

 

“October 31st. Why?”

 

A wave of realization rushed over Franky’s face, and he started laughing out loud. “That explains it!”

 

“What?” The other five stared at him, still lost.

 

“It’s Halloween! It’s one day every year where kids dress up in scary costumes and go around to houses trick-or-treating at night. They knock on the doors, and the people inside give them candy.”

 

Luffy, Zoro, Sanji and Brook all chuckled, relief washing over the group.

 

Usopp looked down at his feet. “Why would anyone find that fun?”

 

“Not all people are as big of scaredy cats as you, Usopp,” Luffy laughed. 

 

They all laughed as Usopp threw insults and retorts at Luffy, boarding their ship with provisions in hand. Franky heard footsteps behind them, and saw the three kids from earlier approach. Three hands started waving at them, big smiles on their faces. 

 

Franky waved back and yelled, “Have fun!”

 

“Look, Luffy,” Usopp defended himself. “Their costumes  _ are  _ really good. You can’t blame me for think that they were real monsters.”

 

“Your cowardness blinds you, Usopp,” Zoro reasoned.

 

“Since when did you become an old man?” Sanji asked the swordsman. 

 

“Is that why you need goggles to see?” Luffy asked, completely serious. 

 

Usopp just stared at Luffy, his face void of any sort of emotion. “Well, at least I can rest in peace knowing I’m not as stupid as you.”

 


End file.
